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Where to see

Where to see the House Sparrow in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the House Sparrow at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Goukamma Nature Reserve and Anysberg Nature Reserve.

Passer domesticus

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House Sparrow
Photo: (c) Esteban Poveda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Esteban Poveda

Planning a trip

When and where to find the House Sparrow

Hosts have recorded the House Sparrow at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Goukamma Nature Reserve and Anysberg Nature Reserve.

Best hours of the day

  • The first hours after sunrise, and late afternoon. Birds call and feed most in the cool.
  • Midday. Quieter, especially in summer heat.

Where to base yourself

  • Western Cape

    Western Cape

    Cederberg Wilderness Area · Goukamma · Anysberg

    Self-driveMalaria-free
    Stays in Western Cape
    Western Cape
  • Eastern Cape

    Eastern Cape

    Kwandwe

    Guided drivesMalaria-free
    Stays in Eastern Cape
    Eastern Cape
  • Limpopo

    Limpopo

    Kruger

    Self-drive
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

Cederberg Wilderness AreaGoukammaAnysbergGamkabergRocherpan

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Kwandwe

Species

Passer domesticus

Records

3,894

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the House Sparrow on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

Which parks and reserves are best for the House Sparrow in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the House Sparrow at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Goukamma Nature Reserve, Anysberg Nature Reserve, Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve and Rocherpan Nature Reserve and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

Where can you see the House Sparrow in South Africa?

The House Sparrow is most recorded in Western Cape (49% of records), Gauteng (15% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (14% of records), based on 3,894 iNaturalist observations. 79 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the House Sparrow on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the House Sparrow?

The House Sparrow is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Cederberg Wilderness Area: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Goukamma Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr; Anysberg Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov; Gamkaberg Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

What is the House Sparrow?

The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. A small bird, it has a typical length of 16 cm (6.3 in) and a mass of 24-39.5 g (0.85-1.39 oz). Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the House Sparrow

Every stay on the House Sparrow page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.

See where to stay